Lapland for grown-ups: finding magic in a child-free corner of Finland

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Even well after Christmas, arriving at Rovaniemi airport is like something out of a childhood dream. Large pictures of Santa Claus adorn the check-in desks, delicate reindeer figurines are poised in the middle of the luggage conveyor belt and swarms of wide-eyed children rush off the planes on their quest to find the man in the red suit.

Given that we do not have children, I wonder if I have made a terrible mistake in bringing my boyfriend to Lapland.

Thankfully, Leo is waiting outside. He is the son of Magdalena and Onni, the owners of Beana Laponia; an adults-only boutique hotel set in the remote wilderness 37 miles (60km) north of Rovaniemi in northern Finnish Lapland.

As we pull away...

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